Everything's Fine, but Aren't You Looking a Little Too Villainous?

Chapter 77

Clatter-clatter.

The carriage's heavy wheels rolled smoothly along the approach road leading to the academy.

"Your Eminence. We'll arrive shortly."

Saint Abel, the commander of the Order of the Eastern Cross seated opposite him, spoke with confidence.

His silver armor gave off a pleasant metallic ring in time with the carriage's sway.

Cardinal Barneo nodded with a benevolent smile.

'Everything is perfect.'

Though the impurity of the saintess's deviation had been mixed in, this too must be a trial bestowed by God.

Today's swift armed intervention would raise the church's standing and serve as the perfect opening move to narrow the old pope's foothold.

Abel clenched his fist and reported the final details of the plan.

"As soon as we arrive, we will enter immediately without lingering at the main gate."

"Excellent, Commander."

"The moment we enter the academy, I'll deploy the knights in all directions and prioritize finding the saintess above all else."

"……."

"And if Your Eminence enters the headmaster's office with me and formally demands that the academy return the saintess, I believe that would be best. They wouldn't dare resist."

Cardinal Barneo felt deeply satisfied with Abel's attitude.

Just as expected.

Those who faithfully carried out their roles with a faithful heart could carve out the perfect path even in any unexpected situation.

"Let's do that."

"Understood. Then I shall bring down the light of God upon the den of the impure."

Screeeech—!

The moment his declaration ended.

The carriage came to a sudden halt with a harsh grinding sound.

"……Ahem!"

Cardinal Barneo barely kept himself from tumbling out and frowned.

It was just as the carriage turned onto the road toward the academy's massive main gate.

From outside came the coachman's urgent, flustered shout.

"C-Commander! The way is blocked!"

"What are you talking about! We have to get in even if we have to break the gate……."

Saint Abel barked and roughly flung open the carriage window.

And Cardinal Barneo also turned his gaze toward the scene visible beyond the open window.

Just then.

'……What is this?'

His mouth dropped open stupidly.

Even Saint Abel, who had boldly vowed to enter at once, froze like a statue.

In front of the Imperial Academy's enormous iron gate.

There, well over a dozen people stood in a line like a giant wall, blocking the road.

"Shall we go in as is, Your Eminence?"

Saint Abel asked, swallowing hard.

The boldness from just moments ago had vanished, leaving only deep embarrassment in his voice.

Barneo hurriedly raised a hand.

"No. Stop."

'What on earth is this scene?'

The cardinal did not know the faces of the others lined up outside.

But at the very least, he could immediately recognize the academy's headmaster, standing in the center of the group in a relaxed posture.

And beside him, the elder of the Magic Department, Dean Hicks, stood with his arms crossed, radiating a chilling killing intent, someone he could identify at a glance.

"It would be best to immediately withdraw our previous plan to force our way in……"

Though he wasn't acquainted with those two big names, there was no way some run-of-the-mill nobody would be standing there at that sacred moment.

The numerous senior professors standing solidly behind the headmaster and dean would also be formidable presences in the imperial magical world that one could never ignore.

More than anything, what caught Barneo's eye was the beautiful woman with red eyes who stood out vividly among the drab old professors.

'That person is the rumored……'

He had heard it so many times that his ears were practically callused.

She must be Iris von Evergarden, the monstrous archmage said to perhaps be the greatest genius of all time.

To mindlessly launch a mounted charge at those monsters while they were all raising their mana to guard the main gate?

From that point on, it would be suicide, not martyrdom.

Grrrk.

Cardinal Barneo ground his teeth.

He forcibly relaxed his rigid facial muscles and put on a benevolent smile.

"We should speak first at the gate. Open the door."

"……Understood."

Cardinal Barneo stepped out of the carriage.

Behind him, the knights in gleaming silver armor came to a halt like an escort.

The night air was cold enough to cut.

"And who might this be?"

Before Barneo could even offer a greeting, the headmaster standing before the massive iron gate spoke first.

His voice was, oddly enough, calm and shamelessly nonchalant.

"So it is Cardinal Barneo. What brings Your Eminence to this humble place in the middle of the night?"

"……It's been a while. Have you been well?"

Barneo suppressed the churning in his gut and greeted him as politely as possible.

Then the headmaster answered with a warm, genial laugh.

"Of course, Your Eminence. I've been well."

"I'm glad."

"Though only up until yesterday."

"……."

At the sharp barb hidden in those words, Cardinal Barneo's brow darkened viciously.

Open hostility.

He was being treated like an unwelcome intruder.

"That's quite an excessive joke, Headmaster."

"Hoho. I'm not the sort who enjoys jokes."

"I thought we were still at the stage of communicating through official documents, so why have you brought so many professors, practically an armed force, to block a visitor?"

Barneo lowered his voice as if deeply wronged and began his act.

"May I ask the reason for this?"

The situation kept slipping beyond his control and veering in completely unexpected directions.

What on earth was going on?

Only a few hours had passed since his ultimatum reached the academy.

'Why are they so perfectly prepared for our visit?'

It was a horrifying hypothesis he didn't even want to consider.

If, by some chance, that arrogant academy side had grasped the overall flow of the events unfolding now.

And if they were understanding and perfectly predicting even the political infighting hidden beneath it as clearly as he was?

'Who the hell is behind this?'

This wasn't the kind of swift response that could come from the heads of those old men who did nothing but theorize.

There had to be some sly, eel-like bastard behind them, setting the stage and pulling the strings.

Cardinal Barneo's gaze swept fiercely over the professors blocking the gate one by one.

'Who is that?'

Then, among the professors lined up around the old headmaster, another person besides Professor Iris stood out sharply.

Even more than the young Professor Iris, who stood out alone among the white-haired old professors.

A man in loose clothes, who looked even younger and completely unsuited to such a solemn occasion.

'Is he even a professor? No, an assistant?'

With that youthful man, Cardinal Barneo's gaze locked straight with his in that very instant.

And then.

'……!'

The man, instead of being intimidated by the sight of the church's second-in-command,

was letting out a sneer so vile and infuriating it scraped at his insides.

The man didn't avert his gaze; instead, he tilted his head slightly toward Professor Iris beside him and whispered pointedly.

* * *

"You chickened out, old man. Just as expected, right?"

At my whisper, Professor Iris answered with a faint smile.

"Everything's fine, but aren't you looking a little too villainous?"

'What the fuck?'

I flinched and looked at Professor Iris.

How did she know my expression when she was only staring straight ahead?

'Could there really be some kind of magic that puts eyes on the side of your head?'

While I was screaming inwardly in shock, Professor Iris added softly.

"Of course, there is magic that lets you see the side of your head."

"Gasp."

What the fuck. Mind-reading?

"There is also magic that reads the mind, but that takes the form of hypnosis and mental torture. I'm not using either of those two spells right now."

"Then how do you know?"

"Just because."

Professor Iris lightly pushed up her glasses and whispered gently.

"Because it was obvious you were about to do exactly that."

"……That's scarier than magic."

At my sincere impression, Professor Iris let out a small laugh.

But wearing a villain-like expression had very much been my intention.

I was deliberately standing there with a damn obnoxious expression so that that shameless old cardinal would get pissed off and completely lose his temper.

"So."

Professor Iris asked quietly.

"You want them to get provoked first and make the opening move? Rather than just quietly backing down like this?"

'Damn.'

This woman definitely had to have a telepathy license or something.

"No, seriously, why do you keep looking straight through people?"

"If I pay attention, I can see it."

A faint trace of hurt colored Professor Iris's voice.

"Even though you've been far too indifferent to me lately, I've remained utterly devoted."

"No, that's……."

"I even felt a little hurt, wondering if this is what one-way affection feels like."

That stung.

Honestly, if I put my hand on my conscience and thought about it, Professor Iris had been pushed a bit to the back of my daily priorities lately, hadn't she?

And yet she had rushed straight to every mess I made and worried about me first.

I ignored the guilt washing over me and cleared my throat.

Anyway, the initial defensive scenario I'd briefed the old headmaster on in the faculty meeting was a reasonable one.

'We need to take advantage of the fact that they won't expect us to act this decisively.'

'We send out a rebuttal statement right away, then the professors all stand together guarding the school gate.'

'Then Cardinal Barneo, realizing that every move has been read, will be overwhelmed and turn his carriage around and go back.'

The headmaster and the senior professors had applauded and agreed to that neat, pacifist solution.

But.

"Naturally, the best outcome is not for them to just obediently turn back, but to cause a huge incident instead."